better hook that tuner up soon, those finals in that radio probably are hurt already. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2009 6:05 PM Subject: CW DX Contest - you won't believe > So it went this way and read to the end for the funny part. > > I finally got the Icom 7000 to key on CW with the MFJ keyer > keyboard combination. A friend discovered a jumper wire inside > the MFJ keyer box that said Direct keying and Gridblock keying. > It was on Direct so he switched it to gridblock and wouldn't you, > know, it began keying the radio normally, although the Icom manual > said nothing about this. > > So, Friday, waiting for supper, I tune through 20 meters and > worked everything I could hear just for the fun of it. About 30 > stations in all. Some were the big loud contest stations running > big antennas and big power but some I worked, I could hardly copy > myself; yet they answered. I was running about 60 to 75 watts > output due to my SWR and no tuner. > > Then just before the supper call, I was tuning 40 meters > about 7 PM. I have had the R7 vertical on my roof for many years > and used mostly Ten Tec transceivers. Once for about three > years, I had the Yaesu ft767 on the same R7 vertical on the roof. > Never once, to my recollection, have I worked, or even copied Q5, > a European on 40 meters with any of those radios and this vertical > and believe me, I've tried. Since getting the IC7000 in mid > November, I have heard many Europeans, to my amazement, and many > were Q5 copy, too. Friday night, a 50 mile an hour wind storm > blew into Denver and then it began snowing. It was a literal > white out for a couple of hours but then just as quickly blew > itself out. At 7 o'clock that evening was when the storm was > strongest and I was on 40 meters. I called several of the big > signals but didn't get through. I also heard several of the > European big contest stations S9 or better at times but none were > hearing me except for one. I worked a guy in Sweden, to my > amazement, and later, I worked a few KH6 and KH7 on the band. > After supper, learning from one of my kids who had brought his > family over to eat with us, that the storm was on, I went back out > to the radio and used the talking watt meter to see what the SWR > and forward power was. This R7 vertical, at 7.1 is 1.4 to 1 and > at 7.0 is 5.1 with no tuner running as of yet. My output power at > 5.1 is about 25 to 32 watts. With the high winds, temperatures > dropping rapidly below freezing, the snow and all, where I worked > the Swedish station I was running 6.4 to 1 and had 18 watts > output. Imagine that! 18 watts and a vertical working Europe > from Colorado. By the way, at 7.0 it was up 6.7 to one. > > I worked someone in the Caribbean, I forget who now, on 15 > meters Saturday morning but even today heard nothing on 15 meters > or 10 meters. So, under the circumstances, I was quite happy with > the rigs performance under such limited conditions and not so hot > band conditions. Now all I need to do is hook up the solid state > amp and the LDG auto tuner, throw up and 80 and 160 antenna, > install the 40 meter rotary dipole, and I'll be in business. > > Phil. > [log in to unmask] >